Loving a Queen
by NicHale
Summary: Regina left Storybrooke, to escape the wrath of its citizens after the curse broke. Now she's finally come back. What's going to happen now?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I'm back. Sorry it took so long, but I think that this is a better story than the one I was writing before. I have written a lot of it, so updates should be quicker. Probably once a week. Anyway I hope you all enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

 **Xoxo Nic**

Regina rolled over in bed and looked at the ceiling. It had been four year since she left Storybrooke for the sunny west coast. Four years since she had seen her family, and four years since she discovered she was pregnant with Emma Swan's child. The brunette smiled at the thought of her three year old daughter. She was the perfect blend of her parents. She had inherited Regina's long and curly, almost black, hair. She also had Emma's sea green eyes and a slightly tanned tint to her skin. She was extremely intelligent, like both her mothers, but had Regina's humor paired with Emma's wit.

"Mommy!" Regina felt the weight of a tiny body jump on top of her and grunted.

"Ugh. Morning Monkey. How are you doing this morning?"

"Good. Can you make bweakfast, please?" Regina smiled at her daughter. She thought it was completely adorable that she could not pronounce her R's correctly yet, but she could roll them perfectly.

"Yes, love. What do you want to eat?" The little girl lifted her hand to her chin, as if she actually had to contemplate her answer.

"¿Me trae panqueques, por favor?"

"Absolutamente, mi amor." Regina rolled out of bed and picked the little girl up, walking downstairs to the kitchen. She quickly prepared the pancakes, dancing and singing with her daughter, as she did so. When she finished she placed a plate in front of her daughter and took her own seat.

" How are your pancakes?"

"Good Mommy. Thank you." Regina smiled.

"You're very welcome Monkey. Guess what? I have a surprise for you." Cori's eyes began to widen as she stared at her mother excitedly, but she didn't say anything and waited for her mother to explain.

"We are going to go visit Mama and Henry for winter break, and we are staying for Christmas!"

"Yay!" Cori jumped out of her seat, running around and screaming how excited she was. She hadn't seen her family in a while. Regina never went to Storybrooke. Whenever her family wanted to see her they flew out to Los Angeles. However, this time she would be the one making the trip. It hadn't taken a lot of convincing.

 _The phone had been ringing non-stop for the past 20 minutes. The first two times she hadn't been able to get to it but the third time she was waiting for it. She rushed over as the two tone bell began again._

" _Hello?"_

" _Hey Regina, how are you?" She was immediately nervous. Why would Ruby be calling her back to back like that?_

" _Is everything ok, Ruby? You never ring me like that? Oh my god did something happen to Granny or Henry, or…" She dreaded to think that something bad could have possibly happen to someone she loved._

" _No, nothing bad has happened. I'm sorry if I made it seem that way. I was just calling to let you know that we will not be able to fly out there for Christmas this year." Regina sighed in relief._

" _Thank god, please don't ever scare me like that again. I'm glad everyone is alright though. Wait, why won't you be able to come out this year?"_

" _Well, Snow is having this Christmas party, and asked Granny to cater for it. And also Granny would like for you to come back, just for the holidays. I think she's getting a bit tired from working, and just wants to spend some quiet time at home with her family. I know that you don't want to come back because you think that this will put Coralyn in danger but I promise we will protect both of you." Regina looked to the back yard where her daughter was playing with their neighbor. She knew what going back would do, but she also knew that Ruby was telling the truth when she said that no harm would come to her daughter._

" _Ok, we will come to Maine. I have one condition though, no one can know that I am coming. There will be enough backlash when they finally see me there. I don't need a mob waiting for me at the town line when I finally arrive."_

" _Of course, there's no other way to go about it. Now I have to go, but I'll talk to you later. Tell Cori I love her and I'll see you two soon. Love you, Sis."_

" _I love you too, Dear. Give everyone my love, I'll see you all in a few months." She hung up the phone and went outside to tell her daughter dinner was ready. She felt dread in the pit of her stomach and she knew her return to Storybrooke, however brief, was going to cause the uproar of the century._


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to all of those who followed. I am kinda of disappointed that I didn't get any reviews. A little criticism will help the story grow! Anyway I said I would update within the week, so here it is! I hope you all enjoy and please review, it helps me as a writer.**

 **Xoxo, Nic**

The day had finally come. She and Cori would be heading to the airport right after breakfast. To say Regina was nervous would be an understatement, but this was something she knew she had to do sooner or later. She cleaned up her food and headed to put their luggage in the car, as Cori was still finishing her breakfast.

"Alright, baby girl. Let's get you dressed." She picked the little girl up and carried her to her room. They were in the car in record time and were off to go see their family. Their plane left at noon, and though it was only a five hour flight they didn't land until 8 o'clock at night. She looked out the window at the snow covered ground and smiled. That was one thing that she had missed about the east coast, among others. She heard a tiny gasp and looked over to see Cori doing the as she was moment ago.

"Mommy, look! It's so pretty." She smiled at her daughter and nodded.

"Indeed it is. You know, while we're here I'll help you build stuff with it. When I lived here Henry and I used to go outside and build snowmen and forts. It was a lot of fun. You'll enjoy it." Cori cheered and stood up as people began departing the flight. The pair walked through and stood at the carousel, waiting for their bags to come around. Regina was surprised when she suddenly felt Cori trying to tug away from her, but released her hand when she saw who the little girl was trying to run toward. When she was released the child ran full speed toward the woman standing a few feet away and leapt into her open arms.

"Hey CorBear. God, I missed you. Did you get taller since I saw you?" Cori laughed.

"Hi Mama, I missed you too." She snuggled into the older woman's arms, "and I grew an inch. Mommy says I'm gonna be tall."

"You are gonna be super tall. And speaking of your mommy, I think I see her over there now. Let's go say hi." Regina smiled at the mother daughter pair as they walked toward her. Cori laid her head on her mother's shoulder, watching their interaction and dozing.

"Hello, my love. Where's Henry?" Regina wrapped her arms around her wife and gave her a sweet kiss.

"Hey Beautiful, how have you been? He's with my parents. They have been pestering him about spending time with them. He wanted to be here," Emma said. Regina nodded.

"I know he would have been if he could, but I thought that he had been spending time with them."

"He did, for about 3 months after you left, but every time he was with them they kept asking him questions about you and he got sick of it." Regina let out a humorless laugh.

"I take it they weren't very nice."

""No, not at all. Because of that he decided to limit his time with them because of that. Today is the first time he's been alone with them in almost 6 months, and even then the only reason he is there is because he wants to spend time with Neal." Emma shrugged. She knew how the kid felt about her parents, because she felt the same way too. Her parents had never loved Regina, true, but the least they could do for their family was not bad mouth her, considering that she was someone that they loved.

"Any way, I was thinking that we should get something to eat, since I'm sure that you didn't eat on the plane. I know that Granny's is empty right now and I know a person who may keep it open for us. What do you think?" Regina smiled at the blonde.

"I think that sounds perfect." She grabbed the other woman's hand and followed her out to her car. Once Cori was settled and their luggage was in the trunk they began to make their way back to the, sometimes, quiet town of Storybrooke. Regina sat rigid the whole way home. She was nervous and excited at the same time. Her major concern, magic. She hadn't used magic since she had left, but that was no big deal. To her practicing Magic was like riding a bike, once you learn you never forget. No, the big deal was that her daughter was the child of the two strongest magic users in the world. She was born from true love, and her parents had the lightest and darkest magic of all. What worried her most was she didn't know what would happen once they crossed over the line. It was another reason that they had never come back.

"Emma, what are we going to do about Cori's magic? Should we bind it t for the time that we are here?"

"Honestly, I don't think that it will manifest while you're here for the week. Remember when I first came? I didn't have access to my magic for months and even then it was nothing big. If you want we can bind it." Regina sighed.

"I think you're right. There's no need to do it now. If she shows signs we will." Emma nodded and put the car in park. Regina had been so in her head that she hadn't noticed the time that had passed. She looked out the window to the door of the diner and saw two figures. She climbed out of the car and rushed over before pulling them into a giant hug.

"We missed you too," Granny laughed out and the two brunettes laughed along with her.

"I'm sorry. It's just so good to see you."

"It's good to see you two. Now let's get inside and get you some food. Wait, where's my baby girl?" Eugenia turned around and saw a sleeping Cori lying on Emma's shoulder. She held out her arms and waited for Emma to transfer the sleeping child into them. Emma wrapped her now free arms around Regina's waist and kissed her cheek.

"Let's go. I'm starving." Regina rolled her eyes at her wife.

"Are you ever not?" Emma laughed and pushed the older woman forward, toward a booth near the back. Red brought them all food, and sat down with the three other women to eat her dinner. They ate and talked, mostly about Cori, Henry, and the next time they would all be getting together. They had just started packing up their food when a knock was heard on the front door of the dinner. Regina felt Emma turn around and look at the door before going stiff, and she dreaded her first encounter with a Storybrooke citizen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, hope you had a good thanksgiving. Sorry for skipping last week, I was a little busy preparing for the holiday. So I had a few reviews that say you need a little backstory, and I aim to please, so I included that in this chapter. Thank you to those who did review and if you didn't then please do . It helps me write better and that makes for a better story for you all to read. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **Xoxo, Nic**

"MOM! She heard shouted as the door was pulled open. She turned around to face her now 14 year old son.

"Henry," she said quietly as she opened her arms to receive her son. "Hola mi princepito." She squeezed him tightly, not wanting to let go. Henry was just as content to stay in his mother's arms, as it had been months since he had seen her.

After a few moments they separated and sat down at the table.

"¿Comó has estado?" Regina wrapped her arm around her son.

"Bien, mama. Te extrañaba." Henry snuggled into his mother's embraced. Regina smiled at her son.

"I missed you too, my little prince. I heard you spent the day with your grandparents and Neal. How was it?" Henry shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it.

"It was fine. I spent most of my time playing with Neal. Then we had dinner. I don't really mind spending time with them as long as they're not talking about you, and luckily tonight they didn't." Regina smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time then. Luckily for you, you won't have to spend any time with them while your sister and I are here. I'm sure we'll keep both you and your mother occupied enough."

"I'm sure you will," she heard Emma whisper under her breath. She reached over and pinched the other woman's side. Henry laughed at his mothers' antics.

"So where is my little sis, I missed her too."

"She is sleeping. She is having a little trouble adapting to the time change. She should be up now, so I'll go get her and we can begin heading home." Henry put his hand on his mother's shoulder, keeping her in place as he stood.

"I've got her. You guys get packed up and by the time you're ready, I'll have Cori out here." The two nodded and watched their son head to their daughter's room. Regina stood and walked over to Granny, sitting next to her. She looked over at Ruby and addressed both women.

"Tomorrow Emma and I wanted to spend some time with each other. We were wondering if you two, along with Archie, could take Cori and Henry out and show them around town. It would only be for a few hours." Granny chuckled.

"Nonsense child, of course we will. You and Emma deserve some time together after being apart for so long."

"They can stay the night to allow you some time to get reacquainted," Ruby said, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Emma laughed while Regina blushed. Before either of them could say anything back Henry came back down with, a now wide awake, Cori in his arms.

"Ready?" Both women nodded and said their goodbyes to the two other women. When they reached home, the women put their daughter to bed and wished their son a goodnight before retiring to their own room. Emma lay on her back, Regina tucked into her side.

"I missed you," Emma said, placing a kiss on the other woman's forehead.

"I missed you, too. I really love what you did with the house. The pictures didn't do your work justice."

"Thank you, I'm glad you like it. I was worried that no one would want to buy it, if it didn't look good." Regina looked at her wife, confusedly.

"Why would you be worried about that? You're not selling it right?"

"Yes, I am. After the school year ends Henry and I are going to come live with you, in order to be a proper family. Both Henry and I are sick of being so far away from you and Cori. My parents' constantly nagging me isn't helping matters either. I just want to get away from it all and spend time with my wife and kids." Regina rolled up onto her arms, in order to get a better view of Emma's face.

"Emma, are you sure? I know that your parents are getting on your nerves, and I understand wanting to be with us. I'm not saying I don't want you to come live with us. Every time you leave I have to stop myself from begging you not to go. But do you really want to leave your life here, you just found your parents. I don't want to be the reason you lose them. And if you do move, please don't sell the house. Keep it for when we come back to visit." Emma nodded.

"I'll keep it. And yes I am positive. There is nothing I want more than to come live with you and Cori permanently. As for my parents, it is partially their fault. I will still talk to them and everything. I just won't be living in the same state. I wouldn't be able to cut them out completely. I want to know my little brother and see him grow up, but I can't stay for just that reason." Regina smiled at the woman beside her.

"I'm sorry I made you stay for so long. As much as I wanted you with us, I didn't want you to resent me. I didn't want to take you away from your parents before you got the chance to really know them."

"I know why you did it. I wouldn't have resented you for it either but I do understand why you did it. I'm grateful that you did. As much as I would have loved for all of us to be together, I did need to get to know my parents. Now is the time for me to be with you full time. Do you remember our wedding?" Regina snuggled into the blonde and nodded.

"Of course. How could I ever forget the best night of my life?"

 _"_ _Emma! Hurry up, we have a full schedule today," Regina called up the stairs._

 _"_ _Alright already, I'm coming," Emma said as she descended the stairs. "The way you're shouting you'd think we were late going to the moon."_

 _"_ _As slow as you are, we probably would be. The kids and I have been ready for the past half hour."_

 _"_ _Well, that's great. Why are you in such a rush anyway? We're just going to the beach."_

 _"_ _I just want to spend as much time as possible with you and Henry. You're leaving in a few days and I don't know when the next time I see you will be." Emma groaned. She thought she had helped Regina with her insecurities, but apparently not._

 _"_ _Reggie-"_

 _"_ _I know. I can't help it though. Look, let's just go and enjoy the day," Regina said picking up the one year old from her swing. Emma nodded and ushered her family out the door. She drove them to a secluded spot on the beach, where she and Henry had set up a picnic for them. They ate lunch and Regina watched as Emma played in the ocean with their son. After about an hour Regina switched with Emma._

 _"_ _You know, I am gonna marry your Mommy CorBear." Cori giggled at her mother._

 _"_ _Regina, can you come up here?" The brunette looked over at her blonde lover._

 _"_ _Yeah, Em?" Regina looked at her girlfriend with confusion. Henry had followed his mother up the beach pulled out his camera. He took Cori from Emma and sat down in a beach chair, ready to capture this moment._

 _Emma took a deep breath before speaking._

 _"_ _When we first met you hated me, although I think you hated the fact that you liked me. Then I saved you for the first time, and that was our turning point. We quickly went from enemies to friends to lovers, and I have loved every minute of it. Our journey together has been amazing and I wouldn't change what we have been through because it gave me you and our beautiful family. I know that you've had a bad experience in the past with marriage, and I would like to change that. So Regina, will you do me the honor of marrying me?" Tears streaked down the brunettes face as she threw herself into the arms of her girlfriend. She looked over at Henry confusedly._

 _"_ _Should I take that as a yes," She asked him. He nodded as Regina pulled back and placed a heated kiss to Emma's lips._

 _"_ _You should take that as a definite yes. I would love nothing more than to become your wife." Emma smiled and hugged Regina tightly to her body, before standing and spinning them around in circles._

 _"_ _How would you feel about doing so tonight?"_

 _"_ _As in we get married today? Aren't you moving a little fast Em? I mean I don't even have a ring yet."_

 _"_ _Everything is set. I just need you to say yes."_

 _"_ _Ok then, let's do it." The family stood and gathered their things before walking to their car. Emma drove them to the courthouse and they were married under the state of California._

 **So that's the end of this chapter. Let me know what you all think and if I should continue. Next chapter will be up next week, and it will be family time, plus a bit of Emma and Regina's date night. Thanks for reading!**  
 **Xoxo,  
Nic**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, Sorry this chapter is so late. I've had a lot going on this week but none the less, it's here. I'm sorry this chapter is a little short but I should have time to write a longer chapter for next week. There may be some mistakes and I'm sorry but I didn't really have time to edit. If there are too many I will take it down and repost but anyways, please review and I'll see you all next week!**

 **Xoxo, Nic**

"Well, that night I made a promise. I promised that I would be with you for the rest of my life and so far I haven't exactly kept that promise, but I am now. You, Cori, Henry and I will all be together from now on. If they don't like it, they'll just have to deal. Now, it's late and we have to kids who like to wake up at the break of dawn. Let's go to bed, and tomorrow night and afternoon will be all about us, ok?" Regina nodded and snuggled closer to Emma, falling quickly into the best sleep she'd had in months.

At 6:30 the next morning, as Emma had predicted, Henry and Cori were trying to wake their parents.

"Ok Cor, here is what I want you to do. You are going to go in whisper into mama's ear until she wakes up. And if she doesn't, tickle her until she does. Ready? GO!" The two kids snuck into their mothers' room. Henry walked over to the brunette and positioned his hands over her ribs, looking to Cori to see if she was ready. When he saw she was he nodded and the both began wiggling their finger's over the women's ribs. Emma and Regina woke immediately, squealing and begging for the torture to end but the kids ignored them. Emma flipped and grabbed Cori as Regina did the same, turning the assault on the kids. After a few minutes they stopped and laughed quietly as they all caught their breath.

"Well, that's one way to wake us up in the morning," Emma said. Regina nodded in agreement.

"What are we doin' today Mommy?" Regina looked at her daughter.

"We are going to show you around Storybrooke. And this afternoon you and Henry will be going to a festival with Granny and Ruby, and you'll be spending the night with them."

"But what about you and Mama? You're not coming with us?" Regina shook her head.

"You know how, when Mama and Henry come to visit us at home, we get you a babysitter and go out?" Cori nodded, "Well we're going to do that tonight. You and Henry will have a lot of fun at Granny's. Plus, tomorrow you get to spend all day with Mama." Cori smiled at the thought of having a Mama-Cori day.

"Alright family, it is time that we get up and get ready so that we can do everything today." They all stood from the bed, the kids going to their rooms and the moms heading into their closet. After thirty minutes everyone was ready.

"First stop is Granny's to get something to eat," Emma announced, reaching over to squeeze Regina's hand. The kids sat in the backseat, oblivious to the interaction occurring between their parents. "I'll protect you. I promise. So will Granny and Ruby, like they would let anything happen to their little Ladybug." Regina let out a quiet laugh.

"Heaven have mercy on whoever thinks to hurt that little girl. She has too many powerful people looking after her." She shook her head looking back at her children, who were talking animatedly.

"Alright crew, get out! I'm starving."

"When are you ever not? I seem to recall having this, almost exact, same conversation yesterday."

"Whatever, I like to eat. Sue me" Regina laughed and followed her family into the diner. As she entered everything went silent, as the patrons stared at her in awe. They had never expected to see her again. She ignored them and continued to walk to her seat.

"Hello Regina, what can I get you," Granny asked.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone, how are you? Sorry about not putting a chapter up on Monday as promised, but at least i get to update this week. I won't be updating again until after New Years, as I am going away with my family and won't have access to a computer or internet, but I will continue writing, and hopefully will have a solid chapter for you all. Anyways, enjoy the story and please review! BTW I don't own anything in this story but the story line and my OC. Forgot to put that in the first chapter. Oops!**

 **xoxo Nic**

"I'll have a Belgian waffle with eggs and bacon. Also a cup of tea please. They'll have the same, but can you bring them their hot chocolate." The older woman nodded and turned around before addressing the crowded diner.

"What are you all staring at? Either eat your food or get out of my diner. If you bother them you will no longer be welcome here." You could hear the audible gulp from the many patrons in the establishment. They quickly went back to their meals, except two. Regina and Emma had failed to notice the Charming family sitting in their usual booth, although they had passed right by them when they had walked in. Snow stood and walked stiffly over to the booth that held the Swan-Mills clan.

"Good morning everyone. Regina, I didn't know you were coming back to town. Did you just get in this morning?" Regina shook her head.

"No Snow, we got in late last night. We ate and then went to bed. And only a few people knew we were coming."

"Oh, well where are you staying? I'm sure Granny has a room for you here." Granny placed their food in front of them, before walking away to watch the conversation from behind the bar.

"I'm sure she does, but you don't need to worry I have a place to stay," Regina said with a smile.

"Mommy? Can I have more syrup for my waffle?" Regina handed the syrup to Emma, who poured a bit on the little girl's food.

"Who is this? Hi sweetie, what's your name? I'm Snow White." The little girl leaned into her blonde mother, who wrapped her arm over her shoulder and squeezed.

"This is my daughter, Coralyn. You'll have to forgive her. She's a bit shy around people she doesn't know."

"But she is clinging to Emma, who is a stranger."

"Not at all. Cori is very comfortable with Emma. And she is most definitely not a stranger."

"Mom, Cori is…"

"Wait! She's your mommy?" Emma nodded at the little brunette.

"Yeah Monkey. Anyways, like I was saying. Cori is my daughter and that is why she is familiar with me." Snow stumbled backwards.

"You-your daughter? How is that possible? I thought Regina s-said she was hers. Did she adopt another one of your children? I don't remember you being pregnant anytime in the last few years? Who is the father?" Emma raised her hand to stop her mother's rambling.

"First, yes she is my daughter. Mine and Regina's actually. Second no she didn't adopt her. She is Regina's biological daughter and I was never pregnant. Regina gave birth to her after she left. She is also my biological child, and was conceived through magic." Snow looked at her daughter with shock. Her countenance shifted into an expression of anger.

"You let her leave here with your daughter? Emma, she is evil! How could you do that? She probably corrupted her, and turned her into a little evil queen. We could have raised her to be a hero and…"

"Shut up, Snow. Don't you dare talk about them like that. You may think you know Regina, but you only know the heartbroken Evil Queen. Do you truly think that Regina would cause her own child harm? She took our daughter away from her so that she couldn't be hurt by you. And honestly, Regina is a better parent than you could ever imagine being. She has given our kids her best, and has never sent them away. I wouldn't ask for anyone else as a co-parent." Emma looked over her shoulder at Regina, who was sitting there silently with tears in her eyes. Cori snuggled even more into Emma, and Henry sat in the booth, glaring at Snow with hatred.

"Girls, would you like me to pack up your food to go? Or get rid of the princess so that you can eat in peace," They heard Granny say as she walked over to the scene, but Regina shook her head.

"No, thank you. We just want to sit here and enjoy our meal. Snow, can we not do this here. It is neither the time nor the place. The kids do not need to be present for this either. Please." Snow glared at the other woman.

"Fine, but this is not over."

"That's fine; meet us at the mansion tomorrow morning." Snow nodded and stomped back over to her seat like a petulant child.

"Well, that was fun. How about we eat our food and then we will go to the park. Tonight you two will spend the night at Granny's and then tomorrow we are going down to the Big Field to help Granny and Ruby set up for the winter festival." The kids cheered at the news. They loved spending the night with Granny because she let them stay up late and made s'mores with hot chocolate. The women smiled at the children. They were both extremely excited for their date night. Emma stood from her seat, announcing she had to go to the bathroom, kissing Regina's head and heading in that direction. She had just come out of the stall when she felt someone grab her arm. She yelped and turned to lash out, only to find her hand in the iron grip of her mother.

"Emma, stop. Are you okay?"

"What do you mean? I'm fine." Emma shrugged off the hand and walked over to the sink.

"Are you sure? I just really confused. Are you under a curse?" Emma turned around and looked at her mother.

"A curse? Why the hell would you think I am under a curse?"

"Because you think you share a child with that woman. Emma, everyone knows that two women can't have a baby."

"You and I both know that is a lie. Two women, or two men, can have a child if true love is involved. Now you may not want to believe it, but Regina is my true love. Cori is just proof of that." Snow scoffed.

"How could you possibly be in love with her after everything that she has done to our family? Plus she is a woman, which makes this situation even more disgusting." Emma shook her head sadly. She had been told by Regina, Granny, and Ruby that Snow probably had this mindset.

"You know, I'm going to let that slide because I know that you were raised by a homophobic bigot, who turned out to also be a rapist. Surprisingly I thought that you had gotten past this when I first came out to you, but apparently that was not the case." She heard Snow gasp at the previous comment about her father.

"My father was none of those things, especially not a rapist. How can you say such horrible things about your own grandfather?"

"We may be biologically related, but that is the only thing that connects us. Everything that happened to Regina was a result of his actions. Truthfully if your father had treated her better I don't think that she would have resented you so much. She became the Evil Queen because after you so graciously told her mother her secret, which in turn killed the male love of her life, your father and her mother, forced her to become a wife and mother at 17. She and Daniel had never been intimate and your father was her first. Leopold came into her chambers and forced himself on her. What 17 year old would want a man who was almost 40 years her senior? Did you know she tried to kill herself? She hated her life so much, that she wanted to end it. And that was all because of you." Emma turned and walked back to her family, leaving a stunned Snow in the bathroom.

"Are you all ready to go?" They nodded and left the restaurant swiftly.

 **Okay, so I know that Emma shouldn't have told Snow all that stuff about Regina, but I needed to have some conflict between my main characters. Well, we'll see what happens when Regina finds out that Emma spilled her darkest secrets...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, I'm back! I'm sorry that it took me so long. I've had a lot going on with school and we got hit really hard when Jonas cam around. I got over 30 inches where I live, so most of my time was spent digging out my car. Anyways, this chapter is a bit short but hopefully its enough to tide you over until I can finish my next chapter. Chances are I will post it on Friday. now, on with the story and don't forget to review!**

 **xoxo, Nic**

As they sat in the car Regina looked over at her wife. The blonde had been fuming since they left the restaurant.

"Love, are you alright? What happened back there?" Emma glanced over at the other woman.

"I'll be fine. Snow confronted me in the bathroom and we exchanged some words."

"Then how about we distress? I'll call Ruby and tell her that we are leaving earlier than planned. We can drive down to Boston and spend the night there, then come back late tomorrow evening." Emma nodded. She couldn't wait to have some alone time with Regina. She loved her kids, but it had been too long since they'd gotten that.

"Ok, but we don't have to leave early. Today is going to be spent with our kids before we leave them for a whole day." The brunette nodded.

"Mama, Manny says that we can go play we get home? Can we?" Both women thought her nickname for her brother was adorable. Regina had 'learned' Spanish when she enacted the curse and she had decided that her children would learn as well. When Cori was younger she couldn't say hermano, so she just shortened it to mano and eventually it just became Manny. They both doubted that it would change in future years.

"Yes, sweetheart, you can. Me and Mommy will come out and play with you too." She pulled up to the house and the younger members of the family jumped out of the car. Regina exited as well and smiled at her daughter when she came to stand in front of her.

"Mommy? Do you want to build a snowman? Come on, let's go and play!" She allowed the little girl to drag her by the hand to their back yard. They spent hours outside playing. For the last hour they had a team snowball fight, kids versus moms. Emma refused to surrender, but Regina had gone inside to make them all hot cocoa for when they came in.

"Hey Lynnie, I got a plan." Cori looked over at her older brother. They were currently huddled together behind the fort the built to protect them from their mother. "I'm gonna distract Mama, and I want you to run around behind her and throw a snowball at her. Then I'll come help you got it?" She nodded and they broke apart, both focused on their mission. Emma was confused at the sudden silence and peeked around the edge of the fort she and Regina had built.

She jumped when Henry suddenly sprung up and began pelting her with snowballs and quickly hid behind her fort again. She built up her own arsenal of snow weapons and placed them to the side, but as she was turned she caught a glimpse of curly black hair. She smiled as she devised a plan in her mind to turn Cori against her brother.

"Psst." Cori ignored the sound.

"Psssssssssssst." The little girl giggled. Emma reached out and pulled the girl into her embrace. "Hey pretty girl, what are you doing?"

"We was gonna bush you!" Emma laughed at her daughter's grammar, but Cori sat there with a smile on her face.

"Its 'we were' and ambush, Baby. I've got a better idea anyway. How about you go ambush Henry, while I go get mommy. I'll give you candy if you do," Emma said with faux excitement. Cori nodded and ran off, while Emma went into the house.

"Reggie?"

"In here, love!" Emma headed in the direction she heard the voice. Regina was sitting in the Family room, surrounded by family pictures she had taken in California.

"Hey Babe, what're you doing in here," Emma asked, sitting beside her lover.

"I was just trying to decide which pictures I should put up. I have a lot of pictures of all of us and I thought that maybe you would like to hang some up. Most of these are from this summer. Want to look through them with me?"

"Sure." Emma picked up a pile of photos. Looking at one of them she smiled. "Remember this one?" Regina peered over at the photo in the other woman's hands and smiled. In the picture a three year old Cori was sitting on the shoulders of her older brother. Both were smiling and next to them stood a woman dressed as the Evil Queen from Snow White.

"Of course, it was the first time we had ever gone to Disneyland. I still don't understand how they got me so wrong. I look nothing like that cartoon. What was she even wearing? And who came up with the name Grimhilde. Do I look like someone named Grimhilde," the brunette ranted. Emma laughed and wrapped the older woman in her arms.

"Not at all. I don't know why you get so worked up about it though. The people of this world don't know that your stories are actually true. Those are just what people think the Evil Queen would have looked like. No one would ever guess that she is a devastatingly beautiful brunette, and that she doesn't want to kill her because of Snow being more beautiful than her. In my honest opinion you are far more beautiful than my mother could ever dream of being. I always knew that there was more to the story." Regina smiled and leaned into her wife.

"Thank you, my love. Your way with words never ceases to amaze me." She kissed the blonde softly and leaned into her embrace. For a few minutes they just sat in silence, enjoying each other's company, but the silence was soon broken by loud footfalls headed in their direction. A blur of black white caught the mothers' eyes before a tiny body slammed into them. Henry was not far behind his little sister, walking over to sit by the three of them.

"Hey, what are you guys doing," Henry asked.

"Just looking at some pictures. We are going to hang some up here before we leave. We are almost done, though. You guys can help us pick out the last picture, and I made you some cocoa if you want it afterward." Cori cheered from her mother's lap. The four looked through the pictures finally picking four that they liked. All of them included all four of them, and were probably taken by Ruby or Granny. Henry's choice was a picture of them all on the beach. The sun was beginning to set and you could see Emma and Regina cuddling on the beach as they watched their children playing a little ways away. Cori chose a picture where they were all at the beach house. Emma was tickling the little girl while Henry and Regina looked on fondly. Regina's choice was from one of their rare sleepovers with the entire family. Emma was on the end of the bed, her long hair flowing on her pillow, and Regina was on the other side. In between them Henry was sprawled out on his stomach and Cori lay on his back. The mothers clasped their hands on top of the little girl's back. Emma's choice was a picture of them on Christmas. They were all sitting on the couch in their pajamas, Emma and Regina in the center. They had been watching a movie and the picture was captured during a funny scene in the movie and all of them were laughing. They looked so happy.

"This is going to be a tough choice." They all looked down at the photographs in front of them, not sure which one to choose.


End file.
